Off the tracks
by Lord Kass
Summary: Some say that 60 seconds is all it takes to change your life forever. As a street racer,Talia has seen this more than once and more than she cares for. But when she seems to be stalked by a strange red car,she finds that her life is changing in a way she never imagined. It was impossible,why her? There was nothing special about her. And yet,she soon finds herself in over her head.
1. Chapter 1

Off the tracks pt1

Nothing but freedom infront of her,the past desperately giving chase trying to catch up. The cool spring wind,curling her hair around her face even though she had most of it tied back-still some stubborn strands had broken free to play with the wind from the open window. Lights in her rearview mirror,became smaller and smaller until they were just pin pricks. She wasn't surprised, not many local racers stood a chance against her, nor the horse power to take on her baby. A caribbean blue dodge Viper with banana yellow flames painted over the hood and the tail fin. Talia's lavender eyes left the mirror to look at the black road ahead. She knew this track well, and loved it-she'd raced it enough times that she could almost run it in her sleep. She'd shift gears as she came into the last and largest of the turns of the track-she loved this turn the most as she felt so connected with her slowly, taking the turn faster then she should, she didn't care. This was as close to flying as she would ever come in her life and it felt as if time slowed right down to nothing. Half opened eyes,she'd watch her headlights glide over the smooth ridges of the track, and for the briefest of moments life wass perfect. Then,a red blurr passed her headlights, finishing the turn before her. Talia's eyes snapped into focus,widening as she saw something that seemed impossible. 'Where did you come from?' She growled, there was no way the rest of the racers had caught up to her-she should be finished by the time they hit this turn. Not to mention none of their cars could cut that turn shorter then her, not in their bulky bruisers.. The moment of bliss was shattered, now was time for action! Growling again as she shifted gears to come out of the turn,she had to catch up to the red blurr. He was fast, but so was she.

Talia would have to work hard to keep up with this new car. She was so focused on beating him that it took a few moments for her to fully process that she hadn't seen this car at any of the races before now. Though,it was clear that the driver took pride in his car,it was clearly his baby just as her viper was her's. There was a bond between them, and she had yet to even lay eyes on his face. Not that it mattered, she would beat him like she beat all the others and then deny him in the cruel game she often played with these men. She was in it for the cars and the thrill, she cared very little for those that actually partook in the lifestyle. The red car pulled ahead again, and she'd laugh, enjoying the challange this driver was giving her. 'Oh no you don't. ' she breathed to herself as a hand slid from the wheeel to flick at a switch. Sending her flying into the lead, after the massive boost her car gained from the nos tank. It was a dangerous move, especially when she had yet to see the driver's style-he could have easily clipped her and sent her into a death spin. But the fact that he hadn't,proved that he had some integrity. 'Sorry buddy...but this is my track.' She'd grin again, face full of excitement-it had been so long since she had felt like this. It was,addicting. That was the best word she could think of to describe how she felt from this rush.

Glancing in her mirror, she saw the red car pulling back. Why? She knew that he could catch up,even after her boost. Her paranoid side hit her like a brick wall, as she found herself watching behind her more then what was infront of her. Did he know something that she didn't? She'd begin to slow her speed, beginning to think that he might have a police scanner but by that time, it was too late. From either side of her came the brilliant red,white and blue lights from police cruisers as they came down on her. They'd been waiting for the chance to catch some illegal racers. 'Shit!' She slammed her hands against the wheel. There was no way she could pick up enough speed to escape, and she'd been clearly racing so that she couldn't even try to pretend she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Dammit! The man driving that sexy car had set her up! He must of been an under cover cop, or working with them. Kind of like those Fast and Furious movies. Talia growled angerly, if she ever saw that driver again, she'd make sure he regretted this!

Time seems to drag by when your grounded.  
'I'm dying!' Talia whined, following her best friend threw the crowd. It had only been a month since she had her car impounded by the police. Thankfully, she'd made bail, and the cops weren't going to scrap it. Sell it, or auction it...after they gutted it. She had to find a way to save her baby before they hurt him. Dawna Dai, had dragged Talia to the 'full moon legal race' that happened in the big city once a month, it was a way to try and cut down the illegal racing and also try to help both racers and law enforcement to have a community to go to. But Talia's mood wasn't improving. Feeling the roar of the various cars, rumbling threw her core only caused her to long more for her own car. Shut in a dark strange garage, cold and alone. getting abused and no freedom to run on the roads. Some may find it foolish for her to put human traits in her car, but she wasn't the only one. 'Moons. Don't worry. Sevenshift won't be killed.' Moons was her nickname that only closest friends called her, and Sevenshift was the name they gave her viper the day she won it. The first real race she had ever driven and won was for his papers. 'I don't know...' she'd wrap her arms around herself, glancing out over the sea of cars. 'Stay here. I'm going to get something to cheer us up. okay?' 'Yea...' She'd have no emotion in her voice as Dawna darted off to the shaved ice stand. Normally the sugary icy treat would do just the job, but never had Talia felt so lost, or been in so much trouble. Leaning against a wall, she'd try to think of all the people they had talked to, had tried to rally together and help save her car. And for all her friend's effotst, she had to try to at least pretend to be having a good time-to let Dawna know that her intentions and efforts was appreciated. Mayebe they'd hit the pizza parlor after the racers were done for the night.

That was,until her eyes fell upon a familiar sexy red car. Jumping away from the wall, Talia's eyes widened. He was there! The jerk that got her car impounded! There was no way, she could let him get away with what he'd done! Franticaly, she'd push her way through the lumbering crowd, making a mad dash to where her friend was. Dawna had just put in their order, when Talia grabbed her by the shoulder and spun her around. 'Hey! Moons?' Dawna's anger faded to confusion as she saw the panic on her friend's face.'I need your car.' 'Excuse me?' 'Gimme your keys' 'What-no-Moons' Dawna shifted away from her. 'I need a car-Dawna-the man who got Seven impounded is here!' 'Moons-No-if he's a cop...' 'Its legal tonight!' 'But your not allowed to drive..period!' 'I'll go to jail. pay the fine. Whatever. but this is personal. I need this.' Talia felt tears prickling the corners of her eyes as she tried desperately to convince her friend to loan her the car. She honestly didn't know what was driving her to act like a mad man, it was almost like some other force was pushing her to be next to that red car that had changed the game...


	2. Chapter 2

Part two.

Dawna watched the desperation on her friends face,knowing that for the night anyways, Talia saw her as an enemy as well. It was a bad idea,while she was in such a dangerous and paniced state. 'eat something first, then maybe we can talk...I'll race-' 'No! you don't get it!' Talia growled, flailing her arms in frusteration. 'Moons' 'No.' Talia would push away from Dawna, breaking into a run amongst the waiting cars for the next race. 'Talia!' Dawna began to give chase but was cut off by a crowd. 'Dammit!' She growled loudly. She'd give up her icy treat, as she did her best to follow-at least Talia was safe,well as safe as one could be as long as she stayed out from behind a wheel. But she knew Talia,and knew that if she didn't find her soon, then she was going to get herself in even more trouble. The next race was about to start,the warning bell had chimmed and all the racers that had wandered away from their waiting cars were soon making their way back. Talia was trying to look for the driver of the red car, but other then people passing, no one went near the car. Where was he? Sh e'd wonder if he was watching her from somewhere in the crowd, maybe waiting to see what she he never got out of the car,its engine was purring ,she knew that if she was going to talk to him, now was her only chance as knowing her luck, he'd disappear after the race. It was hard to tell over the sound of awakening engines but she could have sworn that she heard Dawna calling for her-it was do or die time. Dashing around the back of the car, Talia pulled open the driver's side door, fully expecting to see a confused man sitting there. It was her that was surprised-it was empty. 'Talia!'

She had no idea what caused her to do it, but Talia jumped into that empty seat and shut the door behind her,strapping herself in. Instantly the sounds of the street outside vanished. The windows had been clearly tinted so that one couldn't look in but looking out,everything seemed as clear as day. Her eyes would scan the interior of the car,there was something different about it, like nothing she'd seen before. It looked like an average racing car, but something was off...Slowly she'd slide her fingers around the steering wheel,getting a good feel of it between her hands. The engine revved,startling her as she jumped slightly in the seat, giggling.'You sure are something.' Talia smiled as she settled in the seat. 'Let's get this race started.' She didn't know what had come over her,normally she wouldn't just hijack some one else's car,especially if she thought the owner might be a cop but this car pulled out a boldness in her that had been hidden deep inside. Focused on waiting for the race to start,she'd not think to check the mirrors or noticed Dawna making her way threw the line up towards her. Dawna frowned as she tried desperately to locate Talia,but with all the movement and engines roaring, all she was doing was getting a massive migrane. She couldn't spot her friend, and if she didn't get off the road, she might get hurt by the cars passing when the race bell rang. That's when she spotted a car and a driver she did reconize,only pausing a moment to growl in distain but she'd rush to him. 'John!' She snapped, causing the man to turn away from the woman he'd been talking to and stare like a deer in headlights at the shorter blonde woman. 'Dawna? You racing tonight too?' The man laughed. He had once been a friend of Dawna and Talia-until the gang he ran with had tried to run her off the road. They weren't impressed that Talia had used her car and won the Viper now sitting in the police impound. 'What do you mean, 'too?'' 'Moons just got into a red car..' Dawna's eyes narrowed as she glanced over to spot the red car, but also the yellow light was counting down. Dammit! 'I'm going to borrow this' 'What...' John blinked, too slow to catch the woman as she slid into his car. 'Dawna-' He'd try to grab the handle of the blue subaru but the start siren blared and he lept back as the cars all began to move. Thankfully he was far enough in the back, that he didn't have to dodge too many cars as they passed him. Frowning, the man would mutter provanities before turning on heel and running off,his intention was to find a car to get on that track...

Talia had never been behind the wheel of something so powerful,and yet agile. She knew they were moving at such high speeds that it verged on dangerous-she didn't know this track and she didn't know this car. And yet,she felt like she was flying, almost as if the car was driving itself-that was silly though. That would make it some sort of new experimental care,and anyone who had the money or ability to work on one of those would be foolish to race on anything but a closed track. It might explain why the driver hadn't wanted to police to catch him though,maybe he was sneaking the car out. The thought of some guy freaking out because his car was missing and he'd lose his job,amused her to the point of giggling out loud. The engine would purr almost as if it too were laughing along with her. The sound reverberated threw to her very core and Talia shivered. Her eyes sparked as she felt a connection to the car, she had to have it, but she'd never be able to afford it and now that she was driving it she knew that there was no way she'd manage to beat it in a straight race. What was left as options,were not good. She'd watch as they passed the lead car,and fly down the last of the offical track. 'I don't want this to be over already...' she'd pout,watching the winner's line approaching rapidly. There were people waving and cheering, as well as other cars, all waiting to cheer on the racers. 'It doesn't have to be...' Came a rumbling male voice. Talia screamed and threw herself back against the seat,hands coming off the steering wheel as she was startled by the voice that seemed to come from all around her. She'd then instinctively grip the wheel,fearing crashing as she looked over her shoulder. Was the driver in the car the whole time? She hadn't seen anyone in the back seat. But then where had that voice come from? 'H...hello?' She'd speak nervously. Maybe there was a radio or something,and the driver had patched in. But wouldn't he wait until the race was over? There was no reply and as she crossed the finish line,Talia began to gear down, or tried to. The car wouldn't allow her to slow down, infact...it was picking up speed. Why wasn't it stopping? She'd watch as the confused crowd blurred past,and they continued along the road heading away from the event all together. She may not have driven the course before but she did know that this road lead to a dead end,sort of. It lead out to an old abandoned airport strip that was shut down ten years ago. Some racers were known to go out there and train for stunts or if they had a crew, train them. It was isolated and a good place to do bad things. Talia looked over the car again,trying to find anything that may look different. Like a light, or something. The car must have been rigged for remote control like what they used for some movies were the stunts were too dangerous for even stunt drivers. But as far as she knew those cars couldn't go much faster then sixty at max, so then...was this a test run. Well, she supposed that she'd find out when they got to wherever she was being taken, might as well sit back and relax.

The whole trip she kept her hands on the wheel,habbit, and insurance incase she had to take control again. Soon the lights of the city were nothing more then small pin pricks and they were close to the airport strip. The car would then come to an abrupt stop,causing Talia to grunt as she was thrown foreward into the wheel,and having the wind knocked from her. 'a...little...warning next time.' She gasped as she pushed herself back,glad that she hadn't cracked her head open on the dash board. Though she knew she'd have a belt bruise on her shoulder now,she'd already feel it burning into her as she unstrapped herself and pulled herself out of the car. 'Huh?' She was confused. There was nothing there. No cars, no people. Nothing. Nothing but dark road and even darker desert. Why had they stopped there? Maybe the remote had died,which with her luck, would make sense. She of course would have left her cell phone back in Dawna's car-and if she was stranded this far out...Maybe there was a working pay phone at the old airport. Fishing threw the pockets on her skinny pants,she'd find nothing but lint. 'perfect...' she huffed, turning back to the car that idoled infront of her innocently. Talia was about to get back into the car when four sets of headlights came out of the darkness,right at her. At first she was glad that someone else had come out this far but then the cars pulled up semi surrounding her and even in the little lighting of the cars,she reconized them. It was John's gang...and they looked like they'd been waiting for this moment... 


	3. Chapter 3

part three

Damien Brown stepped from his orange and purple challanger to lean against the door and smirk darkly at the lone woman. 'Oh Talia,Talia,Talia...What are you doing all the way out here...and...so alone?' he purred smoothly, tone promising things that only one's imagination could dream up. 'What's it look like Damien? What are you doing here?' She'd watch as more men stepped out of the cars as others arrived. They all had tattoo's up their necks and all held some item or another that could be classified as a weapon. 'What happened to our little Viper?' Damien ignored her question as if it was obvious. And she knew that it likely was,though she had hoped that maybe she was just being paranoid. 'Didn't you hear? The coppers got it.' 'And that's what happens when you let women drive,boys...they lose the goods to the damn pigs!' Damien roared and got a chorus of laughs in return. She hated this man,she really did,and he had already cost her one friend...was he really not happy until he had cost her her life as well? 'Here,we were. Intending on riding ourselves of one nuesance when we came across another one. It will be a good night if we can get you both...' The man walked towards Talia,he'd draw a gun and hold it level with her chest. She'd glance towards the car door,trying to calculate if she could get in fast enough-even if she could,would the car be able to drive. She still hadn't figured out why it stopped dead. She really wished the owner of that voice was there,then she'd have at least someone else there and maybe Damien and his gang would re-think this. Shaking her head, Talia frowned,she was alone. She would have to try to get out of this on her own, or die trying. Again,she felt a strange emotion take over,not like her normal shy self. Without a word,she'd throw herself at Damien's legs and catch him off guard. He'd fall back,the gun firing harmlessly into the air but it was enough to give her the advantage and get one good hit in on his face before the other men came along and pulled her off of their leader. 'you bitch!' Damien snapped as he pulled himself to his feet and spat blood on the ground. Talia struggled against the men holding her and didn't notice the proxmitiy of Damien until he punched her in the face with such force that the men holding her lost their grip and she'd fall onto the hood of the red car. 'Think that your clever? Enjoy it,for you won't get to for much longer' He'd hold the gun at her head again. Talia closed her eyes as tears met blood from a split lip on the hood of the car and she waited death.

'What the hell?' One of the men yelped. Talia was confused when it felt like the world was falling away with a strange noise,it wasn't like a car or even a plane. There was no way to discribe what she heard but then she hit the ground and her eyes widened. 'Shoot it! Shoot it!' Screamed Damien. His v'oice sounded high pitched and terrified. Talia covered her head as the air was split by the sounds of multiple guns going off. What were they shooting at? Where they destroying the red car? Maybe trying to cause it's fuel tank to explode and make this look like a tragic accident? But then why did Damien sound so scared? She'd seen him do worse,and it only seeemed to be a turn on for the man. And then the world seemed to shake,or at least the ground. Earthquake? Talia's head popped up from the cover of her arms to look around, only to find herself starring at a foot. Not a human foot. But a metal foot,and it was massive. And it was red! Infact,the same shade of the car she'd previously been tossed on. Slowly, Talia's eyes moved up from the foot,to find a leg,and that leg was connected to...to...  
''Since you're all so eager for make overs!' The giant robot laughed as he lept foreward. Talia knew that voice! It was the same as the one that had spoken to her during the race. But,what she saw now was impossible! The car,robot,car...whatever, was attacking Damien and his men,who all scrambled to try and flee the sparks that came from a weapon it welded. They lost one car but managed to get into another and speed away. 'Oh, I'm not done yet...' The robot transformed back into the car and sped off after the fleeing challanger. Talia would watch as the lights of that red car disappeared into the sea of darkness. What about her? She'd make a small sound almost pathetic trying to push herself up, instead she simply laid her head down on her arms and closed her eyes. That felt so good...sleep tried to pull her away. 'Talia! Oh my god! Talia!' No, she didn't want to open her eyes,but she'd manage to crack them open a little. There was light,blinding her but she saw a pair of vaguely familiar legs rushing towards her. It was okay, she was safe, no more giant robots...

'I just wanted to let you know that Damien and his crew are behind bars, yea,I don't know what happened. They just pulled up to the precent and gave themselves up. I'm heading south,I've got family down there. I just wanted to see if she was awake before I left.' Talia reconized John's voice. Slowly,she'd open her eyes and find them not wanting to work properly. She shifted her head,she wasn't in her own bed. Or even Dawna's. As she began to wake more,she realized from the smell and sounds that she was in a hospital bed. She'd push herself foreward and whimper in pain,everything hurt. 'Moons!' Dawna came rushing into the room and over to her friend, looking worried. ' 've been threw a lot.' 'What...What...where...' She'd croak,blindly reaching out and finding Dawna sensing that she'd be looking for a glass of water. 'Damien ambushed you. We think he would have killed you.' 'Yeh. He was plannin' it' She chocked on the water a little and gasped for air. 'Careful. The doctor said you had a nasty hit to your head,and that you should take it easy for a while.' '...What about my car...' There would be a tense moment before Dawna answered. 'Sevenshift was sold,I'm sorry Moons. I tried to save him.' 'Thats not what I mean. The red one.' She'd shake her head and tremble as images of,she still wasn't sure what she had seen,crossed her mind again. 'No one's seen it since that race...Do you know what happened to it?' Dawna moved to close the door so that they'd have a little more privacy. Talia stared at the crease in the bed between her knees,she was shaking. Did she know what happened to it? yea,it turned into a giant friggin robot with a scary electrical looking weapon. Then transformed back into a car and chased after Damien. Shaking her head she didn't want to lie to her friend, but doubted that Dawna would believe her if she told her what she'd seen. There was no way she'd believe her,especially when she wasn't certain of what she'd seen. 'I think there was alot going on...it was hard to keep track of what was happening.' 'At least your alive. Next time, don't jump into some strangers car...' Dawna tried to make the mood shift a little,she didn't want to sounding like she was telling her friend off,but at the same time she still wanted to kick Talia's ass for scaring her half to death.

'How'd you find me?' She'd ask,finally realizing that her friend had been there, but it had never occured to her to ask how or why-of course she sort of fell unconcious before she had a chance to. 'I borrowed John's car. Apparently he was there to race for his freedom and that's what Damien was originally doing there.' 'He was going to off John...' Right,she knew that,sort of. her mind wasn't focusing on the humans,it was stuck on the face of the robot. It...He...had a face,white,like a ghost...or an angel...and he had a strange ensignia. The more she thought of it,the more she realized she'd seen that symbol while sitting inside the car. She wasn't even listening to Dawna as she ranted about John. 'And he hot wired my car...His gross ass was in my scout...' Dawna growled darkly, turning to look at her friend. 'Talia...' She saw the glazed over look on her face. 'Hey, are you alright?' Talia shook her head, slowly her lavender eyes moved to meet with Dawna's sky blue ones. 'I need to draw something for you,but you're going to think I'm crazy...' 


	4. Chapter 4

As much as she tried,Dawna just could not find anything,anywhere that was even closely similar to the strange doodle that Talia had drawn on the hospital napkin. It looked like it could be a decal for some brand of car,or maybe a devilized version of a dodge ram symbol. But given the stress and her concussion,Talia likely hadn't remembered what she had seen clearly that night three months ago. Dawna would be on her way to meet Talia as she got off work at the bookstore,they were both going to go for some late lunch of sushi and bubble tea. Something that they hadn't done in a very long time. It was supposed to be a nice,regular,normal, no racing or talk of cars what so ever sort of evening. But as Dawna rounded the corner to the street the bookstore was on,she saw a red car. Not just any red car,but the one that had been directly involved in the incident at the race and Talia's injuries. Enough was enough, Dawna huffed to herself, she pulled out her phone, snapped a picture of the car and then made a B line for it. The car was parked close to Talia's work in a stall like the driver was waiting for her friend to get off shift. Dawna was not going to let him near her again-whoever the driver was,was either trying to get her friend killed,or was some crazy stalker. Either way, he was bad news and she had to let him know that she wasn't going to idle by any longer. Storming up to the driverside window, Dawna knocked on the glass. when nothing happened, she leaned in and pressed a hand against the glass, it was tinted but if she looked hard enough she could just make out the vague shapes of the interior. It looked empty. 'damn.' the blonde growled, glancing up and down the street, looking for someone,anyone that could be the car's driver. He likely would look out of place and possibly within sight of his car-but no one even gave a glance towards Dawna or the car. No one looked suspecious, or out of place. Her eyes narrowed as she turned towards the bookstore,the driver could possibly be inside-maybe he was threatening Talia! Growling, she'd step to move for the store when Talia came bounding out all smiles and finally returning to something of her old self. 'Hey Daw...' Her expression fell as she froze in the middle of the side walk. Not looking at her friend,but the car right behind her friend. There was a mixture of fear and something else,Dawna had never seen the look on her face before. It wasn't a good one,and not wanting to have any more attention drawn to them, she'd take another step.

The engine roared to life,causing Dawna to spin, trying to catch the driver. There was no way that someone could have snuck in behind her and jumped into the car in that short time, not without her noticing or hearing the door open and close. She'd turn back to Talia and frown. Moving away from the car,she'd reach her friend and spin her around by the arm and lead her away from where the car was parked. Talia glanced over her shoulder,eyes wide as they walked. 'I wonder why he's here.' 'Does it matter?' Dawna snapped. She was angry. Talia was just getting better, both emotionally and physically and then this creep shows up again? what game was he playing? '...It...might.' Talia trailed off as they went around a corner and out of sight of the red car. Instantly she seemed to deflate and fall within herself like she had right after getting out of the hospital.'What if he's here to kill me.' 'That's why we're not sticking around.' 'No...I mean...if that's why he was here...there's nothing you, or anyone could do.' 'Yes there is. we can go to the police.' 'I don't think they can help.' Dawna came to an adbrupt halt and spun to face Talia towards her to look her in the eyes. 'Moons, I love you but you have to tell me what you've been keeping a secret all these months.' She huffed slightly. Talia's eyes rounded,and she'd inhale like she was about to say something, then her head would fall and she'd look away to the ground. 'You won't believe me.' She frowned. 'Don't tell me what I will or will not do without giving me a chance to decide on my own.' Talia glanced back at her friend and sighed. 'The car is alive.' 'Alive?' Talia nodded and looked away again. 'Like, christine? or Maximum overdrive?' Dawna tilted her head in confusion. 'No..more like...giant transforming robot.' Talia shivered, it was a nice day but there was a nip in the air. Or maybe she was imgaining that. She couldn't look her friend in the eye,she didn't want to see the disbelief. 'Okay then...' 'You...your going to accept that?' 'If its what you say.' Talia opened her mouth to protest when the red car came around the corner. 'C'mon.' Dawna grabbed Talia again and began to lead her off. 'Where are we going?' The car would be creeping behind them, following at a distance but still blazingly obvious that they were being followed. ''away from that car.'

No matter where they went,the car followed,and Dawna was growing tired of walking. Eventually they ended up in the mall and sat at the food court. Though they couldn't hide there forever, they might be able to escape the car or driver in the mass amount of people. Talia sipped her sweet tea as Dawna waited in line for the food they'd ordered. How long did this have to take? it was just a few simple burgers? Stomach growling, Talia frowned. She hadn't had anything to eat since before work that day, and had worked up quite the appetite after all that walking she and Dawna had done. But her mind couldn't focus, it kept going back to that car...robot...whatever he was. He had saved her,so maybe he wasn't going to kill her? And he had seemed to like driving with her,as he'd been the one to break the silence and talk to her. Maybe he just wanted to explain himself. And, didn't she owe him that? Even though he was entirely scary and impossible to exist, she knew that she had to see the car again. Alone. As much as she wanted to believe that Dawna believed her, she was certain her friend was just humouring her until they found out what was actually going on. Or she already knew about the giant robots and was a plant...Maybe that's why she was trying to keep her away. Talia was a paranoid conspiracist, but she had never thought that her friend could be in on the conspiracy...No, she knew Dawna better then that. Her friend believed her,or as long as she herself believed what she was saying to be true. She felt bad for doubting and distrusting her, even if it were for less then ten seconds. Sighing heavily, she'd lean on her one arm, holding her head up in her hand and run her fingers over the table. Glancing over to Dawna, there seemed to be some problem with the food order and Dawna was now arguing with the staff that had taken her order. That was never a good idea. Smiling, she'd reach into her shoulder bag for a pen and grab a napkin to quickly write something down. Dawna was going to kill her later,and possibly nevr buy hre food again,but it may as well be worth it. maybe.

Scribbling a note that read 'gone to car, call you later,i'm ok.' on the napkin, she left it under her drink before using the distraction to disappear out the back end of the foodcourt and down the opposite end of the mall. She felt bad,she did,just abandoning her friend like this but. She needed to find the car. If he was even still around-after fallowing them all day he may have given up and left. She hoped not. Dashing threw the large glass doors, Talia was hit by a blast of cool breeze. The sun was setting and large crowds of people were heading out through the parking lot heading home for the evening. She didn't have long before her friend would come looking for her. Talia walked the the edge of the side walk and looked one way, then the next. She saw a flash of red, and her heart missed a beat, feeling suddenly excited and strangely happy. But then the car came into veiw and she saw that it was the wrong car. Her smile faded and she felt like a tone of bricks fell on her shoulders. the thought that he'd given up weighed even heavier as she still didn't see him. Maybe she should turn back and call Dawna, and hope that she wasn't going to kill her herself. That's when the car pulled up to the side walk and she had to step back. The passanger door opened and at first she expected someone to get out-but when no one did she tilted her head. It was the red car! Her red car! 'Get it.' Rumbled the voice from that night at the race. Now that she heard it again,clearly, she found that it was kind of sexy. However,she had no intention of sitting in the passanger side. Moving off the side walk she'd walk around the front of the car and feel that being watched feeling again. She'd then open and slide into the driver's seat before smiling. 'Well...' The door that had been opened for her would shut as the engine revved and the car moved away from the mall.

Talia had no idea if this was a good idea or not, nor what would happen now, but what she did know was that once behind the wheel of this hot red car, she felt so much better. The best she had felt in months, it was like a part of her had secretly longed for this car...robot...and now that he was back, she'd get her answers...and maybe another race.


End file.
